Since young, I have been fascinated with the idea of appearance versus reality. During my years in high school, I found myself constantly indulging myself in the world of Shakespeare, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley as well as other forms of literature that discuss the idea of "what appears isn't as it seems." This story I am writing is of similar calibre (In terms of genre, not writing proficiency of course.) This story takes the root ideas and genres of plays such as Macbeth and Othello and combines them with the presentness and complex nature of the modern world (At least that is what I am attempting.)
Literature is a timeless reminder of the dangers of the present. The eerie similarities between the past and present are nothing short of concerning, subjects such as the exploitation of human physiology being more prevalent now than it was during their time. Shakespeare in his plays "Othello" and "Macbeth" explores the idea of corruption of the mind, from the seed of doubt to the sprouting of a flytrap of vengeance and anguish. In both plays, we observe the downfall of morally just protagonists being led down a path of paranoia, jealousy and lust for blood. We observe Machiavel characters twist the truths of reality. We never learn whether fates are set in stone or constantly changing. We learn that regardless of time, the human consciousness is nothing more than a cell that houses our inner demons, waiting to be released from the chains of ignorance.
I hope to, in this novella, not only highlight this genre of appearance versus reality but moreover bring more attention towards the idea of empathy; how rare yet meaningful it is in the modern day, where we are surrounded by heartless people in a heartless society run by greed, fueled by desire.
If you read carefully enough, you should notice that Jordan, despite being a trained killer, gradually exhibits more signs of this rare empathy throughout despite being engulfed in a society where he keeps the world clean by doing their dirty work. He finds the will to live in a world where everything wants him to die. That will to survive is what truly, ultimately, makes us human.
I hope you enjoy the story that is before you.
- C.Y
YOU ARE READING
My Classmate is a Killer (Unfinished)
Teen FictionSecrets are the root of lies and deceit. But what if the secret meant life or death? Jordan McDuff bears one of these secrets, being the youngest killer in the country. A former SAS Operative at 17, Jordan struggles to move on from his past life, be...
